Bad credit repair is damn expensive when you make the kind of mistakes Jamie Berber of New York committed.

Jamie couldn't wait for A+ credit.

That's what the sales page promised her. She bought their credit repair package for $99.95 that included template dispute letters.

The directions said all Jamie had to do was fill in a couple blanks, stuff and address the envelopes & mail them regular mail. She didn't even have to "waste" money sending certified, return receipt requested.

That's exactly what Jamie did.

She jumped on those pesky collection accounts with debt collectors calling her daily, demanding she borrow from friends, family, whomever. Pay or else, she heard daily. When Jamie discovered the credit repair sales site, she barely could hold back her excitement.

This was the answer to her prayers. Jamie's husband didn't like the sound of the sales letter. He thought it sounded too good to be true.

How could some fill-in-the-blank template dispute letters be any good, he reasoned.

Jamie's desperation blocked all reason and her husband's appeals.

This was Jamie's problem - accounts from life before getting married 7 years ago. That was all about to change once she fired off these special dispute letters. Many other people, the sales letter promised, already had regained their good credit life once they too fired off these special letters.

That's all Jamie needed to hear.

Jamie knew nothing about the strategy involved in improving her own credit. She wasn't interested in strategy, either. She, like many, many other people, wanted to press the credit repair easy button and watch her credit issues disappear.

Therefore, Jamie never saw the storm on the horizon.

She fired off dispute letters on 7 bad credit accounts.

Quickly, 2 accounts disappeared off her reports, deleted according to the bureau response notices.

That's where the good times ended.

1. Jamie didn't know about statute of limitations.

2. Jamie didn't know that debt collectors couldn't threaten her with lawsuit or arrest under Federal Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). If what Jamie said was true about the debt collectors, the debt collectors appeared to commit several violations.

3. Jamie didn't know about time-barred debt when 2 different debt collectors sued her and forced her to agree to cough up $4,378.00 or face the judge.

4. Jamie didn't consult an attorney, because she said she didn't have the money to afford an attorney.

5. Jamie also didn't know that paying debt collectors does not improve credit scores.

Jamie got sucked unto a convincing credit repair sales letter sounding too good to be true and leading her to take action prematurely. Jamie paid dearly for her hastiness.

1. She bought into a hyped-up sales letter from someone pretenting to be a credit repair expert.

2. She believed template dispute letters actually work - so she fired off a bunch of them.

3. She paid a whopping $99.95 for "killer" template dispute letters requiring her only to fill in some blanks.

4. In return, Jamie's costly mistakes forced her to pay $4,378.00. Worst of all, Jamie's facts suggested she would not have had to pay even one penny if she had known about "time-barred" debt.

Damn expensive lessons to learn...the hard way.

Has someone convinced you all it takes to improve your credit is the right dispute letter template? It's an easy sell to desperate people willing to pay for the easy button. Lie to people; get them all excited into believing all it takes is a "magic" dispute letter template to get rid of debt collectors and improve credit.

Sadly, Jamie learned there's more harm to template dispute letters than simply wasting your money on buying a package filled with worthless credit repair dispute templates.

The Internet is filled with hype about powerful dispute letters pitched to force the BIG 3 to delete your bad credit. These hypsters make it sound so easy. Before you fire off a template dispute letter, stop. Beware of template dispute letters, regardless of how LEGAL they sound. You see, effective credit repair involves strategy...that is, you must look strategically at each account marked bad and determine what to do about it. Strategy is not difficult at all. And it beats the hell out of getting sued or forced to pay $4,378.00...when you legally don't have to pay.

Bad credit repair hypesters make a ton of money selling dreams to desperate people. Template dispute letters (even the so-called personalized template dispute letters do more harm than good), whether you pay $99.95 for a credit repair "kit" or pay $79.95 per month + $89.00 setup fee for a credit (dis)repair company. You need a game plan before you rush to the post office. My DVD 8 SECRETS TO A 680 CREDIT SCORE! attacks the 8 costly, dangerous credit mistakes I see people commit.